Sissoko, 23, arrived at the club in January for £1.8 million from Ligue 1 side Toulouse where he was in the final year of his contract. Courted by a number of clubs including Inter Milan and Juventus, he made an instant impact on his home debut with two goals against Chelsea in a 3-2 win. However the French international will be forced to sit out the rest of the season with a knee injury.

It is a similar story for Ameobi, who after coming on as a second half substitute in the goalless draw at West Ham injured his knee and was forced to depart Upton Park on crutches. That leaves Newcastle with Papiss Demba Cissé as their most senior striker.

However the Magpies were dealt some good news when Pardew confirmed the return of Davide Santon and Sylvain Marveaux from injury.

Speaking ahead of Newcastle's crunch game against Queens Park Rangers on Sunday, Pardew told the club's official website: "Moussa Sissoko and Shola are out for the season."

"We've had a bonus of Davide Santon and Marveaux training today but it's almost been the story of our season, really. We get one back and lose two, or something like that, but we've certainly got a strong enough group hopefully to get a result down at QPR."